Persona: Entwined Times
by Anomynous Nin
Summary: The two heroes saved the world from danger two times from now. But upon this, a new phenomenal was born. Minato and Souji must investigate and search for a way to end this phenomenal once and for all. P3/P4 X-over fic.
1. Prologue

Hello, people. It's Anomynous Nin. Here with a new fanfic. A Persona fanfic. Well, I'm just... well, I'm 14 years old and I played Persona 4. However, I was a little afraid of playing the game a lot, with that being rated M. But along the way, it's not so bad. After all, this is also the popular series in Japan and North America.

Anyways, this story is called Persona: Entwined Times. It's a Persona 3/4 X-over fanfic. I always like X-over stuff. So with all my graditude, I'm making this fanfic.

The story takes place in the end of Persona 3 and 4. After the Protagonists, Minato Arisato and Souji Seta, brung an end to the destruction of the world, they left their friends because of fate. But that's the way it is... However, a new phenomenal takes place between those two times. Wanna find out how? You'll see...

On with the fanfic!

"Speaking"

_'Thought'_

_Flashback_

**"Persona Speaking"**

**Skill**

Disclaimer: I do not own Shin Megami Tensei: Persona series.

**Prologue:**

**End of Destruction... And Beginning of Time**

**Minato Arisato's Point of view**

My name... is Minato Arisato... I am an orphan who's parents died. When I was young, my parents died in an unknown reason. An accident of some sort. When I was a teenager, I was transfered to Gekkoukan High School. Upon arriving to Port Island, something was strange at the moment where the clock hit Midnight. My MP3 player suddenly stopped working. And all the machines and lights were all turned off. Ignoring it, I continue to go straight to the dorm, where I was supposed to live here. When I traveled to there, I noticed some weird coffins all over the place. I wondered why there are coffins... When I reached the dorm, I met a strange boy.

His name is Pharos. He made me sign a contract that I don't know of. When he disappeared, he mentions something about... The Beginning of the End...

Aside from what all happened, I'll start off by introducing my friends...

I have 9 friends in total. One of them is a girl named Yukari Takeba. She's a nice girl, really. She oftens to be shy around me for some she's a strong girl, I'll give you that. Her father died in an accident, which is later revealed to be an explosion created by the Shadows, which went out of control. Despite that, I knew that her father loves her very much. It's not his fault for all of what is happening, since Shuji Ikutsuki altered what he said. Yukari's mother, after the death of her husband, went around to hit on some random guys. And her and Yukari became distant... To tell you guys the truth... Yukari and I are both alike.

Another is a guy called Junpei Iori. He's a cool guy, actually. But when I looked at him in some conditions, he looked like if he's jealous of me or something. I learned that Junpei wanted to be a hero. And because of his jealous of me, he oftens to prove himself to everyone that he's better than me. But even so, he's still a good friend to me. And will still be.

Mitsuru Kirijo. She's a smart girl. And she's the daughter of Takeharu Kirijo, head of the Kirijo group. She's the student council of the High School. She's pretty popular and she's the leader of S.E.E.S.. She can summon her Persona at a young age and she's been training to protect her father. However, her father is worried about her. And during one of the Dark Hour nights, when Shuji betrayed us and the death of Takeharu, she lost the will to fight. But later on, she seemed to have regain her will. She's a respective member of the group indeed.

Akihiko Sanada. He's a strong guy. And the captain of the boxing team. He had a sister once. And her sister died in a fire. So, he wished to be stronger and stronger. That's why he joined the boxing team. And also, he began to not fear death, when his friends sacrificed his life to save a member of our group. He's a strong guy indeed.

Aigis. She's an android, if you guys didn't notice. I'm... pretty attractive to her, to be honest. She wanted to learn what it feels like, living along the humans. She is a bodyguard for me, if I can say that. But later on, I learned that Aigis is the one who sealed an unstoppable Shadow named Death into me, when I was a young boy. That was why I keep meeting Pharos in my room. Pharos is Death. And Ryoji Mochizuki, another transfer student, is the incarnation of Death. She was planning to protect me and supress Death from coming out. Along the way, she became more and more of a human than an android. She's the most kind and rspected friend that I ever met...

Ken Amada. He's the youngest member of the group. He's actually a mature kid. We didn't know why he joined S.E.E.S.. But according to Akihiko, he joined the group to kill Akihiko's friend, who accidently killed Ken's mother. The hatred didn't last long, when Akihiko's friend sacrificed his life to protect Ken from a shot of a gun. Ken earned his respect for him increased, as he promised to fight for the future, for his mother.

Koromaru. He's a dog, actually. A pretty fun dog. He's a Persona user just like us. I often to take him on a walk around town. Not much is about him, but he's intelligent. And he's pretty loyal to Akihiko's friend.

Shinjiro Aragaki. A friend of Akihiko and an ex-member of the group, until he rejoined later on, after learning that Ken joined the group. He secretly took drugs for some reason. We learned that it's to control his Persona. During his meeting with Ken, Shinjiro protected Ken and sacrificed his life from a bullet shot. With his last words, Shinjiro told Ken to fight on and fight for the future. The gave Ken's respect and Akihiko's resolve. The drugs he took was slowly killing him.

And finally, Fuuka Yamagishi. He was shy, the first time. But later on, she became quite confident in herself. She was bullied once before by Natsuki and a couple of girls. She was locked in the school gymnasium by Natsuki and later on, we learned that she disappeared in the Dark Hour. Ten hours in the Dark Hour and we found her alive. Also, when Natsuki wandered in the Tartarus, Fuuka protected her by analyzing the Shadows' weak spot for us. And later, after the Dark Hour, Fuuka and Natsuki became friends. She's pretty smart on detecting the enemy's weakness.

Skipping to the Final Battle on the Tartarus, we fought Ryoji's true form. Nyx Avatar. He possessed all of the 12 Arcanas, even the Arcana, Death. We tried to defeat him, but even upon defeating it, he used one last move. The moon transformed into a demonic one that will descend upon the Earth. We cannot stand up against it, since the gravity is too strong. But then, I was sent into the Velvet Room, where Igor and Elizabeth are. Igor showed me all of the faint voices of all my friends who I shared the Social Links with. With that, I was able to make Igor create an Ultimate card, that will defeat the undefeatable. Back in the real world, I went off to the demonic moon to face Nyx one last time. With the courage of my friends, Yukari, Junpei, Mitsuru, Akihiko, Aigis, Ken, Koromaru, Fuuka and even Shinjiro, I was able to seal Death away with the ultimate skill. The Great Seal.

With Nyx sealed forever, the Dark Hour will vanish. And everyone will return to their normal life. But... I knew that I will die... My soul became a seal from the coming of Nyx and the Fall... And I had only one month to live before dying...

My friends did not remember what happened in the beginning of the Dark Hour's manifestation. Only Aigis and I remembered. At the day of Senior Graduation, Aigis and I decided to hang out on the rooftop...

It was my last moment with her... She slowly became human, just like I wanted her to be... She reminded me that I am not alone. Neither is she... We all have friends to care about... And before I die... I heard my friends one last time... before I left this world forever...

I am Minato Arisato... And I became a seal... to prevent Nyx from coming, along with the Fall...

**Souji Seta's Point of view**

My name... is Souji Seta. I am a young man who lives in the big city. However, since my parents are too busy with work and stuff, I had to be transfer to a small town of Inaba. At the Yasoinaba Train Station, I meet up with my uncle, Ryotaro Dojima. And my young cousin, Nanako Dojima. They pick me up to their house until they stopped at the gas station, so that Nanako goes to the bathroom. After both Nanako and my uncle left, I meet a gas attendant. We talked a bit and we shook hands. When she left, I feel... kinda sick... I didn't know why... After that, me, uncle and Nanako went to the Dojima Residence.

I like to skip the whole story about what happened. Right now, I'm gonna tell all about my precious friends... My friends who cannot be replaced in any matter...

One of my friends is a boy named Yosuke Hanamura. He's a fun guy. We both came from the big city. And he's the son of the manager of a famous mall called Junes. I really had a great time with him. When I first met him, he had a crush for Saki Konishi. I can understand his feelings. However... During our time in the TV world, for the second time, we learned that Saki secretly hated Yosuke. Hearing the whole truth from her, Yosuke was devastated. Upon this, his Shadow appeared. When I defeated his Shadow, Yosuke began to be true to himself. And with that, he obtained his Persona. Yosuke is a great friend to me.

Another is a girl named Chie Satonaka. She's a kung-fu loving girl. She can do a lot of Kung-fu moves, from Bruce Lee movies, Jet Li Movies and Jackie Chan movies. She's pretty tough. In our time in the TV world, Chie's Shadow appeared. We learned that Chie was jealous of Yukiko, because she had some natural girst and talents. Yosuke and I defeated her Shadow. And Chie began to be true to herself, earning her Persona. When I look at both Yosuke and Chie, they both seemed like a very good couple to me.

Yukiko Amagi. She's a calm, popular girl in school. She's the manager of the Amagi inn, just to increase the sucess of the inn. However, she became stress out because of it. She's oblivious of love and other things related to that. In our time in the TV world, her Shadow appeared. We learned that... Well, not really learned... that Yukiko hated to inherite the inn for her family. And that Chie was her Prince Charming... What the...? Doesn't she know that Chie is a... Anyways, because of that, Yukiko declined her true self and her Shadow attacked. We defeated it and Yukiko began to be true in herself, earning her Persona. She's... well... one of the girls who I cheerished a lot.

Kanji Tatsumi. A tough guy. He's a delinquent. But even so, he's a good guy. The weird question was... Is he gay? We find that out when we went to the TV world. His Shadow was... a little... gay and girly. He said that girls will always lie to boys and hurt their hearts. And men are much better than them. But the truth is, Kanji was afraid of being rejected by everyone. He was afraid that everyone will think of him as a nobody. And with that, he confessed the truth and earned his Persona. But seriously... Is he gay?

Rise Kujikawa. A cheerful girl who I really liked much, just like Yukiko. She was once a pop star, earning the popularity from everyone. She thought that it will make friends from everyone she likes. But... The truth is, they only want Risette, Rise's stage self. She quitted and settle down in Inaba, to live with her grandmother. When we were in the TV world, her Shadow was... Um... Well, a stripper. She told us that she wanted to show everyone her true self, her true naked self. And because that Rise doesn't want to be that kind of Risette, she neglected her true emotion. We defeated her Shadow and Rise began to trust herself, earning her Persona.

Teddie. He's a Shadow who lived in the TV world. He's a bear of some sort. When we met him the first couple of times, he seemed kind of lonely, like he had no one to be friends with. When we defeated Rise's Shadow, and that Rise earned her Persona, unexpectedly, Teddie has his own Shadow, even when he's a Shadow himself. It represented that Teddie was always lonely, without anyone. And because of that, his lonelyness took over him. When he defeated his Shadow, Teddie earned his very own Persona. And also, Teddie was capable to enter in our world. And his real world self is a blond, bishounen guy with the hots for girls. Well, ever since we were trying to rescue Yukiko, Teddie learned that "scoring a hot stud" meant getting a hot girl. He's a fun guy, to be honest.

And last, but not least, Naoto Shirogane. She is a detective and a famous one, in fact. We thought that she's a boy, but in our time in the TV world, we learned that she's really a girl. Despite her famous detective skill, the people from the police and investigation site thought of her as nothing, but a nuissance to them. When we were in the TV world, we learned that Naoto wanted to be a boy, to earn the respect of the people from the site. And her wish was to be the greatest detective of the whole world. She's pretty smart at solving things that we couldn't. And we saw a little bit of relationship between Kanji and Naoto. Kanji and Naoto... A good couple, I may say.

We investigate the strange murder that happened in Inaba. Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi were both murdered by something. We learned that they were murdered in the TV world. That's how the investigation team was formed, to find the murderer who planned all of this. The first one we suspected to be the muderer was Mitsuo Kubo, a student who was expelled for some reason. But everyone suspected that he was just a copycat killer. The second one was Taro Namatame, the one who was behind the kidnapping of Yukiko and the rest. But we suspected that Namatame is innocent, as he was trying to save them. Someone must have manipulated Namatame to put them into the TV.

Finally, we found the true killer... Tohru Adachi. He was the partner of Dojima and seemed to be a newbie of the police team. However, he was secretly the true killer who put Mayumi and Saki into the TV. He tried to rape them for love, but because they didn't want him to do anything to them for dark purpose, he threw them into the TV. He also manipulated Namatame into believing that putting the people into the TV will save them. He knew that it was us who tried to rescue the people. And eevry once in a while, he said outloud that the police will take care of it or something like that.

When we tried to stop him in the TV world, he was soon been possessed by the creature who was behind the mysterious fog. Ameno-sagiri. We defeated Ameno-sagiri and he then stopped the mysterious fog that has been endangering the people who are inside the TV world.

We thought that everything is all over... That everything will be back to normal...

However... It's not yet over.

I found out who the REAL mastermind behind everything was. It was the Gas Attendant who I first met when I came to Inaba. She gave me the power to enter the TV into the TV world. And in reality... She was the Goddess known as Izanami. So, before I go back to where I was, I regrouped my friends adn we went into the TV world to defeat Izanami.

But Izanami was too strong for us. And she used the Thousand Curse skill on me. Everyone sacrificed themselves to save me. But even so, it got me as well...

I thought that I was going to die... I thought that I will lose against a powerful Goddess... But... The Social Links that I made with all of my friends... guided me... And thus, with the help of my friends and family, my Persona, Izanagi, transformed into Izanagi-no-Okami, a Persona that can match against Izanami-no-Okami.

To end it, I used Myriad Truth against Izanami. And she is defeated. And thus, to bring an end to the Midnight Channel, she leaves mankind into the hands of life, before disappearing from the world...

March 21th... The day where I leave my friends and family behind... It is my last day in Inaba and I had to say my goodbyes to everyone... And when I got on the train and that the train started moving, my friends went after it, sayng their final goodbyes to me... And when I sat down to my seat... I pulled out a picture and smiled...

It was a picture of the investigation team...

**Third person Point of view**

In the train, where Souji is leaving in, Souji gently looked at the picture of the investigation team. He slowly smiled upon looking at it. Seeing it, he remembered all the times he shared with his friends. All the time he was with them. All the time he spent with them a whole year. But today, it is the time to leave them and go back to the urban city he once lived.

"... It sure is gonna be lonely without them... I had a lot of fun with them in Inaba..." he said. "Yosuke... Chie... Yukiko... Kanji... Rise... Teddie... and Naoto... I'll miss them so much..." Then, he felt a small twinkle of tear on one of his eyes. He wiped it off of it and blinked his eyes a few times. "... Today will be a lonely day without them... I'm going back to the big city... It's how it should have been..." He slowly closed his eyes.

However, upon closing them, a bright light shined all over the train, lighten all of the windows. Souji opened his eyes up and shileds them with his arm, slowly standing up.

"W... What the hell?! What the hell is going on?!" said one of the passengers.

"What is this light?! It's blinding me!" said another one.

"I can't see!! What the hell is this?!" said another.

_'What is going on...?' _thought Souji.

Somewhere in the control room, the employees and the driver were blinded by the light.

"Urgh...! What the hell?! I can't see a thing!" yelled the driver.

"We have to stop. The light is just too bright for us to keep on going!" said one of the male employees. "You there!" He pointed at one of the female employees. "Announce the passengers to stay calm and stay in their seats!"

"Yes!" she said. She picked up an intercom phone and turned it up.

Back in the passengers' trailer, a beeping sound was heard from the intercom. Everyone else listened to it very carefully. "Attention all passengers. We are experienced difficulties by the bright light that surrounds the train. Please stay calm and remain seated until the train is fully stop in its track. Thank you." The announcement ended. Listened to what she said, everyone sat down in caution.

Souji, who also sat down, was wondering how the bright light surrounded the train for some reason. Where did that light come from? And why does it surround the train?

Back in the control room, after the female employee made her announcement, the male employee nodded to the driver to stop. "Alright, hang on tight!" said the driver, as he pulled the brake stick to stop the train. The wheels made a screeching sound upon braking. After a couple of seconds, the train suddenly went off-balance. "What the hell?!"

"What is going on?!" yelled the male employee.

"I don't know! The train went off-balance! I don't know how! The rails are completely fine!"

"Well, we better hang on to something! Because the train is gonna fall!" Everyone hold on into something to be ready for the fall.

The train fell to the left side and everything slide on the ground. The passengers on the right side of the seats all fell down to the left side. As the train continues to slide, it crashed onto a large tree, sending a large vibration around the train. The vibration brutally shook everyone and a couple of bags fell off on people. Luckily, no serious injury was made.

Souji rubbed his head a little, because of the violent shaking from the train. "Urgh... What the...?" he said. "What just happen...? What the heck is going on...?" Souji began to wonder. Why was their a bright light? Why was the cause of it made the train to fall down when it is trying to brake? What could have happen?

But before he began to thought of it all up, he suddenly lost consciousness, as he slowly fell unconscious...

-------

Souji slowly regained some consciousness. He opened his eyes. "Ngh... What...?" Upon opening them, he only saw a blue carpet. "Blue... carpet...?" he wondered. However, he slowly remembered that blue carpet. He sat up from the ground and looked around him. It looked like he is in a blue room somewhere. The room is quite familiar. When he continued to look around, he saw two people standing behind a round, blue carpeted table. "Wait... those guys... are they...?"

Souji remembered those two. They are the two people who guided him in his investigation. One of them is a short, strange man with a bald head, with a couple of white hair below. He also had a long nose. He wore a tuxedo, to be precised. The other one is a female with blond hair and dark yellow eyes. She wore a blue dress that looked like a general material one.

"Ah! Welcome back, my friend! We have been expecting you!" said the short man, whose name is Igor.

"Welcome back, Souji." said the blond woman, who is Margaret.

"Igor... And Margaret..." said Souji.

"We meet again, I see. It's been a while since we seen each other. It is so nice to see you once again." said Igor. "Or should I said... It is nice to see you TWO once again."

"Two...?" questioned Souji. When he said that, he felt a presence next to him. He turned his head around and... to his surprise... saw another person next to him. He gasped.

The person also gasped. This person has a short, blue hair and grey eyes. He seemed to wore a school uniform. "Who... are you...?" asked the person.

"Now, now, I believe it is best for me to introduce you two to each other. This young man right here is Souji Seta." said Igor, as he pointed to Souji to introduce him. "And now, this person, Souji, is Minato Arisato. He was the first guest we had in years." he said, pointing Minato.

"Um..." said the person named Minato. "Hi... My name is Minato Arisato. You are Souji Seta... right?"

"... Yes. It is... nice to meet you, Minato Arisato." Souji said, as he reach his hand out in front of Minato. Minato gladly took it and shook hands with Souji.

"Well, now that the introduction is done and over with, I have sent the two of you here for a simple reason." said Igor.

"Simple reason...?" wondered Souji.

"Wait... There's something wrong... I was supposed to be dead and be a seal to hold Nyx from destroying the world. Why am I revived?" asked Minato.

"Dead...? Revived...?"

"Well, this is a question that we cannot answer. Only you will find out why you are very much alive." said Igor.

"Wait... Where's Elizabeth? She's with you, right?" asked Minato.

"Unfortunately, Elizabeth left her post as my assistant. She left to find a way to get you off of the seal without letting Nyx out of there. Let me introduce you to my new assistant. Margaret. She is the older sister of Elizabeth." Igor introduced.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Minato Arisato. Elizabeth told me a lot about you and your quest." said Margaret.

"Igor, there is something you want to tell us, right? What is it?" asked Souji.

"Well... Yes, there is something that I want to share with you. But strangely, I do not know what it is, exactly. Let me explain it by cards..." Igor holded out his hand and suddenly, a deck of cards appeared on his hand. The cards all split up into eight of them. "Let us see... You two are one of the three guests who we met after three years... both of you have extraordinary powers. And the two of you brung an end to those who created destruction in your world. However, right after that, a new quest was made." Igor flipped one of the cards up and it shows a simple clock. But, that clock had four arrows. "Ah... A clock of four arrows... That signifies that two times are merged together..."

"Two times... merged together?" said Minato.

"According to the clock of four arrows, it is known that the time that you two are in will be merge together as a single time. The year 2010 and 2012 will be merge into a non-existing year. However, during this time..." Igor flipped yet another card. And it showed many objects around. There are two people below and above the objects. But, it seemed to be upside down. "Ah... The friendship memory. This signifies that your friends will achieve memories from you. However, it is upside down. Meaning that it is a reverse effect."

"Reverse effect...?" said Souji.

"According to this, the memories your friends shared with you... will have a different effect. Surely that you have made Social Links from them by creating a good friendship. But what is, however, the reverse effect?" Igor said. "Now, for the final card... The two times will merge together and the memories you shared with your friends will soon be reversed... However, what is the danger that awaits?" He flipped another card. And it showed a rabbit and a couple of flowers around it. But like the last card, it is upside down. "The life of creatures... Very interesting. However, it too is upside down. Meaning that the life will come to a reverse effect."

"What does it all mean?" asked Minato.

"Does that mean something wrong will happen?" asked Souji.

"I cannot say for sure. But I know this. You two will live on life one more time. However, you have only a year to solve this mystery. If you cannot solve it... Itwill be the end... of everything."

"What...?" said both Souji and Minato.

"I would like to have you stay, but sadly, it is time to go. You two will have to live together in a new world. An unknown world that you do not know. Until we meet again... Souji Seta and Mianto Arisato..." Igor waved goodbye to Souji and Minato, before they slowly lost consciousness.

What does it all mean exactly? Two times merge together... Reverse effect on sharing memories with your friends... And the reverse effect of life on the world...? Coule it be... another mystery?

**End prologue**

Done, everyone. Wow, it took me exactly four hours on doing this whole chapter. Well, fear not. The next chapter will come very soon. Just you wait.

Until then... See ya. And review, please.


	2. Chapter 1

Hey, everyone. It's me again. And it looks like the story is going pretty well. That's good. As promise, I give you the first chapter of the story. I got nothing else to say, but to say enjoy the chapter, my friends.

"Speaking"

_'Though'_

_Flashback_

**"Persona Speaking"**

**Skill**

Disclaimer: I do not own the Persona series

**Chapter 1:**

**New world... And forgotten memory**

It has been a few hours since Souji had fallen to sleep. Now, he slowly opened his eyes up, as he is awoken from his sleep. *Ngh... What...?" murmured Souji. He slowly sat up from the cold ground and wiped his eyes a couple of times. "What happened...?" Then, he remembered what happened before. He was in the Velvet Room, summoned by Igor. Then, he met a young man that he did not met before. Then, his realization came upon him. He looked around himself and saw that he is surrounded by two brick walls. "Wait... Wasn't I in the train...? What am I doing here between the walls...?" he wondered.

That was when he heard a moaning sound. Turning his head, he saw someone lying on the ground next to him. He remembered that person. That person slowly sat up from the ground and blinked his eyes a few times. Souji definitely remembered him. It was Minato. "Mm... That was... a weird slumber..." murmured Minato, yawning just a little.

"Minato Arisato?" Souji asked. Minato heard it and turned his head to Souji. "Is that you?"

"Souji... Seta?" Minato said. "Why... are you here...? I don't remember you being here..."

"Neither am I. The last thing I remembered is that I was in a train, heading back to the big city. But..." Souji began to look around again. "... Why am I in this place? I'm not supposed to be here..."

"Yeah... I was supposed to be dead... I was supposed to be the seal to prevent Nyx and the Fall from coming..."

Souji set his eyes on Minato, with a hint of curiousity. "You were supposed... to be dead...?"

Minato scratched the back of hsi head. "It's... a long story... Anyways..." He stoopd up from the ground, dusting himself off. "we should probably get out of the alley. We don't know how we got here, but it'll be nice to go and see what's up."

Souji stood up from the ground as well. "You're right... Let's go and see..." So, he and Minato both walked out of the alley and into the outside.

When they got outside of the alley, their eyes are set on the view in front of them. They saw a few buildings around. Most buildings are shops and restaurants. Those buldings... are not quite familiar to the two teenagers. "Where are we?" asked Minato.

"I don't know... I never seen that district before... It's not Inaba and all..." said Souji.

"Neither is Port Island... It must be another place that we haven't been..."

"Hm..." The two teenagers began to wonder. How were they in that place? The question is a mystery to our heroes. "Let's go look around. It may be useful to know about this place a little."

"Alright." agreed Minato. Both he and Souji decided to go look around the place.

They did not know the reason for being here so suddenly, but the question lies in a mystery. So, they walked around the district, finding some few views around. Such as, people going in and out of the shops, people playing around and a few cars passing through them. It was not Inaba... And neither is Port Island. It was something else...

Minato after a few minutes of walking around, Minato began to wonder once more. "I wonder... if Igor was the one who sent us here..."

Souji took that attention and looked at Minato with a hint of curiousity. "What do you mean?"

"I mean... Both you and I were sent into the Velvet Room a while ago, right? So... With us being together in this place... Do you think Igor might have sent us here?"

Souji scratched the back of his head. "I'm not sure... But that is a good thought. I wonder if Igor knows about it..."

"Well... In the meantime... Let's just continue."

"Alright." Souji and Minato continued their walk. That is, until a ring of the bicycle bell was heard.

"Look out, coming through!! I'm in a huge hurry!!! Get out of the way, please!!" said the person riding that bike. Minato and Souji didn't have time to look back to see who it was, when the bicycle accidently hit a pebble, causing it to lose balance. "Whoa! Whoooooaaaaa!!! This is baaaaaad!!!!" The bicycle went between Minato and Souji and crashed into a couple of trash cans. The rider then found himself trapped inside of one of those cans. "Oh damn it! That's the third time this week! Oh, why do i have to go so late, damn it?!"

Minato and Souji looked at each other. "... Do you think we should help him out?" asked Minato.

"Well, to be a kind person, let's get him out." said Souji. So, Minato and Souji walked toward the can where the rider is trapped in. Minato grabbed the hips of the rider, while Souji grabbed the can. They then pulled the rider and the can off of each other. With a couple of hard efforts, they managed to get the rider out. Upon pulling him out with hard efforts, Minato fell behind, with the rider falling on top of him.

"... Ow..." said Minato.

Souji wiped the small sweat off of his forehead and took a breath. "That takes care of it... Hey, are you alright the-" He stopped talking when he saw the rider's appearance.

"Oh... Man, that is brutal... Thanks, you guys..." said the rider, as he sat up from Minato. The appearance of the rider is, surprisingly, familiar to Souji. He had a low-spike brown hair and a pair of red eyes (Though, I might be wrong with the color). He wore a school uniform, such as a black jacket and a pair of black pants. A white shirt is under the jacket. He also had a headphone around his neck, as he was listening some musics.

The appearance was clear to Souji now. "... Yo... Yosuke...?!"

"Huh?" said the rider, named Yosuke, as he took the first look on Souji.

"Yosuke, it's you! What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in Inaba? But still, It's really nice to see you. I'm glad I meet you again in a place like this." Souji was happy that he saw Yosuke once again.

But the answer that he got was...

"I'm sorry, but... Do I know you?" asked Yosuke.

That kind of question shocked Souji a little. "Wh... What are you talking about...? It's me! Souji Seta! We've been friends ever since I first came in Inaba! Don't you remember, Yosuke?!"

"Um... No, I don't think I ever did. Not even being friends with you. And how do you know my name?" asked Yosuke. But then, something hit him in his mind. "Oh, I get it! I must be popular, huh? Well, that's kinda nice for some people to remember me, even when they're not from school. Heh heh!"

"Yosuke... Are you... Are you trying to play games with me there...? Don't you remember me at all...?"

"H-hey! It's nice to have a small chat with you and all, but I gotta get going! I don't wanna be late for school!" Yosuke stoop up from the ground... Or at least, off of Minato, as he ran to his bike and set it up. "I'll see you guys someday! It's nice to see people remembering me as someone popular!" Then, Yosuke went off with his bike, in the direction of where he was supposed to go.

That left Souji in shock. Why doesn't Yosuke remember him? It's been a day already and he forgot about him? "... Yosuke..."

Minato, having being stuck on the ground by Yosuke, stoop up from a ground, with a hint of pain on his chest. "Ow... Man, that hurts..." He then noticed Souji looking strangely at the direction where Yosuke went. "Souji... Are you ok?"

Souji snapped out of it and looked at Minato. "Huh? Oh, sorry... I'm fine..."

Minato looked at the direction where Yosuke went. "... Do you know this guy? I mean, I heard you saying his name without having him introduce himself to you."

"He's... a friend of mine... His name is Yosuke Hanamura. We've been friends ever since I first came in Inaba."

"Oh, I see... But... It doesn't sound like he knows you. Are you sure that it's him?"

"I'm sure. There's no mistake... But..." Souji slowly looked down on the ground. "... Why doesn't he... remember me...? It's been a day and he forgot about me...? I... just don't get it..."

"Hm..." Minato thought about something that is related to that situation. "I wonder... What Igor said..."

"Hm?" Souji took a look at Minato again.

Minato shook his head a little. "Nothing. Well, whatever it is, I'm sure it'll pass. Trust me on this." He smiled at Souji.

Souji slowly smiled as well. "I guess..." He looked down just a little and noticed something. "Is... Is that a revolver?" he asked, pointing at the revolver that Minato had on his gun carrying belt.

Minato took notice of it and realized. "Oh, that! It's not really a revolver." Minato pulled the revolver-like object out of the carrier and showed it to Souji. "It's called an Evoker. It's something that I will need in some... dangerous situations."

"What kind of situations are they?" That got Souji curious.

"Well... I'm not supposed to say it to anyone, but... The truth is..." He looked around himself, making sure that no one is around. "... I am... a user that can awaken a spiritual creature... I am a Persona user."

Upon hearing it, Souji's eyes widened. "Persona user...? You too are a Persona user...?"

Minato widened his eyes as well. "You know who they are?"

"Of course. In fact... I'm a Persona user as well."

"What? For real?" Minato took a look around Souji closely. "But... You don't have an Evoker."

"Why do I need that?"

"An Evoker allows the Persona user to awaken their Persona... By pulling the trigger, while pointing it on your head, like this." Minato lifted the Evoker up just about to his head and pointed it on it. "Persona users often to awaken their Persona like that. It takes courage for a starter user to awaken his Persona like that. Some of them are afraid that it might kill them, if they do that. But it's not really dangerous. It takes the will of the user to face it."

"Hm... I see what you're saying... But for me, to awaken my Persona, I have to crush the card, where the Persona is in."

"I see." Minato slightly smiled. "You're... pretty interesting, Souji Seta."

"You're not half-bad yourself, Minato Arisato." The two of them both shared a smile at each other.

However, a male shopper who got out of the shop took notice of them and, because that Minato still has his Evoker pointing at his head, took on a cautious attitude. "What the...?! What the hell are you doing?! Are you trying to kll yourself?!"

Hearing this, Souji and Minato looked behind Minato and saw the cautious shopper. "Wha... what are you saying?!" shouted Minato.

"Don't act dumb!! I saw you pointing that gun on your head! Man, you're in a big trouble, you son of a...!"

Minato, realizing that he kept his Evoker pointing at his head, set the Evoker down and tried to calm the shopper down. "Wait, this isn't what you think! I was just doing an exemple and-!" Minato did not know that his Evoker is pointing at the shopper.

Seeing it, the shopper yelped out of fear. "G... Get away! Help! Police!! Stop him!!"

"Hey, I'm trying to make sense about it here! Just listen to what I-!" But it just so happened that the policemen came to the scene, responding to the cry of the shopper's help.

"Hey! Leave the poor gentleman alone! We're taking you in!" said one of the policemen.

"Oh no..." Seeing the police, Minato turned to Souji with a hint of worryness. "Souji, what should we do?!"

"Simple." said Souji calmly. Then, in a flash, he ran off from the group. "We run!!!!"

"H... Hey! Wait for me!!!!" Minato ran off with him.

"Stop them! They're endangering the people!" said one of the policemen, as all of them ran after them all together.

While running away from the police, Minato looked back and saw the the policemen are getting closer and closer. "They're catching up! What now?!"

"Run faster!!!" yelled Souji, as he increased the running speed, so was Minato. However, not even that could save them.

The policemen all jumped off the ground and dived into Souji and Minato, pinning them to the ground, with all of the policemen pressing against them. "We got you now! No escape!" said the policeman.

"Aargh...!" yelped Minato in pain.

"Urgh...!" yelped Souji, who was also in pain because the policemen are pressing them to the ground.

"Let's take them to the police department. They must not escape." said another of the policemen, as he pulled a pair of handcuffs out.

-------

The next thing Minato and Souji found themselves, was in a consulting room in the police department. Their wrists are handcuffed and they are locked in the room until further notice.

"... Why has it come into this...?" said Souji.

"I'm sorry... It was my fault... Because my Evoker looks like a real revolver, I placed ourselves in trouble..." said Minato.

The door to the room opened and a policeman entered, looking at Souji and Minato with a suspicious look. "Hmph... You guys are a real pain in the ass. Why the hell did you do that on a poor townsman?" he asked.

"I..." Minato tried to explain , but he decided to look at Souji, who shrugged. "... It's my fault. I'm sorry. It was stupid of me to even think about doing that. I won't do it again."

"Hm... Well, I can't get you out of here. I'm not the one who should do that. We'll have Sanada-san to go with the decision."

Hearing the name, Minato's eyes widened. "... Sanada-san...?" Souji took notice of Minato's reaction and wondered.

"Sanada-san!" shouted the policeman. "You can come in now!"

"Alright. Fine by me." said the person behind the door, who sounded familiar to Minato. That person entered and Minato slightly gasped at the person's appearance. The person has a short, silver hair and a pair of black eyes (Might be wrong with that too). He wore a white shirt and a red veste over it. He also wore a pair of black jeans. The person seemed to have a police badge, to show people that his a police. "So you guys are responsible for what happened back there."

"A... Akihiko!" shouted Minato.

The man, named Akihiko, blinked his eyes in confusion. "What...? How did you know my name? Who are you?"

Like Souji's reaction on Yosuke, Minato was slightly shock when Akihiko said that. "... Akihiko... Don't you remember me...? It's me... Minato Arisato."

"... Sorry, but I don't know you. Not even that guy who's with you." said Akihiko. "Anyways, I heard that you're trying to commit suicide and try to endanger a gentleman, is that it?"

"Of course, Sanada-san. We saw him poiting the gun at that man. And after we came in the department, we confiscated his gun."

"I see." Akihiko looked at Minato with eyes filled with caution. "... what are you thinking, doing those actions like that? This is unacceptable for a townsman like you."

Minato flinched a little. "Akihiko, don't you remember me!? We were friends and members of S.E.E.S!! it can't be right! It's not possible for you to forget me after a year! You and the others always remember me as the one who brung an end to the Fall... You did not fear death, after Shinjiro sacrificed his life to protect Ken... don't you remember?"

Once again, Akihiko blinked in confusion. "S.E.E.S...? Shinjiro...? Ken...?" He shook his head. "Enough of that nonsense! What are you talking about?! What is S.E.E.S and who are Shinjiro and Ken?! Are you trying to mess with my mind?!"

Minato was completely shocked. Did he just hear right? Did he hear that Akihiko...? "What...?"

"Hmph... I don't have time for this." He turned himself around from Minato and Souji. "... I'll let you go this time... But if you ever try another stunt like that, or saying nonsense... I will take you to jail..." Akihiko walked away from the room.

"Hm... Alright then. You two are free to go." said the policeman, showing Minato and Souji the way out.

Souji stoop up from the seat and was about to go, until he noticed that Minato did not stand up and sat there, in shock. "Minato...?" asked Souji.

Hearing it, Minato snapped out. "... Sorry... A little space out for a while there..." Minato stood up from the seat. "... Let's go..." He slowly walked away out of the room.

"... Minato..." Souji said. Then, he followed him.

After they got out of the consulting room, the policeman closed the door of the room. "Alright. You hear what Sanada-san said. If you ever try to do the same kind of thing, or talking nonsense, like you know Sanada-san very well, we will have to take you to jail, without even consulting you some more. Got that?"

Souji and Minato nodded. "We'll keep that in mind." said Souji.

"Alright. Now, I'll be going now. Remember what Sanada-san said." With that, the policeman took his leave.

After that, Souji looked at Minato once more, seeing that Minato is still in daze. "... Are you alright?"

"Huh? oh... yeah..." said Minato quietly.

"... You know who Sanada-san is, right?"

"Yes... Akihiko is my friend... He was the captain of the school boxing in my school. He's a tough guy, when I met him, seeing that he's always up for the dangerous part and saying that it's exciting. But... I was shocked that... He doesn't remember me, S.E.E.S., Ken and even Shinjiro at all... He and Shinjiro were childhood friends... How can he forget about him?"

"I don't know... I don't know why... Yosuke and Akihiko don't remember us... I don't know why...."

Then, it hit Minato with realization. "Wait... Back there... What Igor said before..."

"Hm? What's up?"

"What Igor said... Could it be that... Our times have merged together... And that... the memories of our friends... are non-existen at us...?"

**End of chapter**


	3. Chapter 2

"Speaking"

_'Thought'_

_Flashback_

**"Persona Speaking"**

**Skill**

Disclaimer: I do not own the Persona series.

**Chapter 2:**

**Awaken... Persona!**

"What Igor said... Could it be that... Our times have merged together... And that... the memories of our friends... are non-existen at us...?" said Minato.

Hearing this, Souji just stood here, completely shock at what Minato said. "... Do you mean that... We're in... another time? A non-existing year? Could this mean that... What Igor was telling us before... That...?" said Souji.

"... It seems likely..." Minato began to thought up about the whole situation. "I finally understand what this is all about... The Clock of Four Arrows... represented a merge from our time. The two times have merged together to form a single time. Our year have merged together to form a non-existing year... This world that we're in... it was created when our time have merged together..."

Souji began to thought about it as well. "... That's understandable... And the Friendship Memory... It represented the memories we shared with the people we shared Social Links with... The memories we gave to them... But... It's in the reverse effect... It now represented something that is the opposite of it... Yosuke and Akihiko didn't remember us, because they never met us... The memories we shared with them... are not presented in their memory..."

"So... If we mix all that up... That means we're in a parallel universe. An universe where different times and different places took place... An universe where our friends... do not know of us..."

"Of course... It all makes sense now... But..." Souji began to think about something else. "... But what about the Life of Creatures? It's in a reverse effect, but we don't know what it means, exactly. We know what the Clock of Four Arrows and the Friendship Memory in the reverse effect do... But it doesn't explain something about the reverse effect of the Life of Creatures..."

"We don't know, Souji... We don't know..." The two teenagers all stood there, thinking about what the whole thing is about. But with no luck, Minato broke the silence between them. "Standing here won't help us know about what it is all about. Let's just... Let's just go, Souji." he said.

Souji nodded. "Right." He was about to walk away, until he remembered something. "Oh yeah... What about your Evoker? You need it to summon your Persona, right?"

"Oh yeah... We should go to the confiscation room and get my Evoker back. I think I have enough money to pay it back..." Minato placed his hand in one of his back pockets. But upon digging in there... He felt no items. "What...?" He decided to go dig his hand in the other back pocket. But received the same result. "What the...? Where's my wallet...?" He then went into his other pockets, but still, his wallet was not in either of them. "What the...? My wallet is gone... But how?"

"Hm? What's wrong?" asked Souji.

"My wallet is gone... I thought for sure it's inside of one of my pockets. How could I lose it?"

"That's strange... Usual, wallets are gone from the owner because some robbers swiped it without being caught. But so far, we don't have any robbers or suspicious people near us..." wondered Souji. "Here, let me get my own wallet. I'm pretty sure I got it before I went to the train..." So, Souji went inside of one of his back pockets with his hand. But, like Minato, he felt nothing inside. "Huh...?" He went to the other one. But no results. He went to the front pockets, but neither of them had something inside. "No way... My wallet is gone. What in the world...?"

"How is it even possible? How can our wallets just come and go like that?"

"I... I'm not sure..."

With a failed attempt to find their wallets, they decided to let it go. "Souji... I think it's best to leave my Evoker there. After all, there's no Shadows or anything. I'm sure of it." said Minato.

Souji nodded. "Yeah... There is no danger in this town... No Shadows are here to attack the town. So it's best to just leave things the way they are."

"Right. Anyways, let's get out of the police department. We've been thinking quite enough."

"You're right. Let's go." Minato and Souji walked away from the consultation place, to go out of the police department and onto the outside.

Upon leaving the room, they went into the main room of the department. But just as they are about to leave the place, Minato overheard something. "In local news, we have some reports about a strange incident that happened last night, in Sakura Hospital." It sounded like it was coming from a TV or something. He turned his back from the front door and looked at the counter.

Souji noticed Minato's action and looked at him. "What's wrong, Minato?" Souji turned away from the front door and walked toward Minato.

"There's something that got me curious. I wonder what is it..." Minato began to walk toward the counter.

"Hm..." It got Souji curious as well, as he joined Minato on walking toward the counter.

Behind the counter, they saw three policemen watching a small TV, which showed a news forecast. There are two reporters in that channel. "Sakura Hospital is one of Kuchiki Town's best visiting places in town. It was ranked fourth place as Japan's best." said the male reporter.

"The nurses and doctors treated the injured and the ill quite well. Needless to say, if they want to be treated well, they must go to Sakura Hospital." said the female one.

"And now, on with the local news. There has been a strange incident that happened in the hospital. It is said that an ill person was held in the hospital, with an illness that is not exactly explained. We have no clues on what the illness might be."

"However, the strange incident happened last night, as the ill person mysteriously disappeared from his bed. No one exactly know how, but the police have found three items that are left on the floor of the ill person's room. A pair of eye balls... And lips."

Hearing it, Minato and Souji both widened their eyes in shock. A pair of eye balls... and lips? "What...?" said Minato quietly.

"We are not sure if those items belonged to the ill person's body parts. If they are, we assumed that a killer was responsible for that. However, they found no trace of blood on the floor or on the sheet. This is a strange mystery indeed." continued the female reporter.

"The police found one nurse who had seen what happened to the ill person. However, as they were trying to speak her out of the incident, she did not say a thing. A fear was inflicted in her, they assumed. The mystery is still yet to be solved." said the male.

One of the police turned off the TV. "Man... What the hell is up with that? What kind of person who left eye balls and lips inside of a hospital? Seriously, that is not normal." he said.

"We all know that it is not a killer who did this. We don't know for sure what made this kind of incident." said another one of the policemen.

"Damn, that sure got me the creeps... A sick guy who disappeared and two eye balls and lips were lying on the floor... What the hell, man." said the last one.

After the whole conversation is over, Minato and Souji looked at each other. "... Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Minato.

Souji nodded. "We're going to Sakura Hospital, right?" he said.

"Right. That incident got me curious. I wanna see what the whole situation is all about."

"Yeah, me too. Let's get going." Minato and Souji went outside of the police department.

After reaching outside, they stopped for a minute. "So... Where's the hospital, by the way?" asked Minato.

"I heard from one of the policemen when we were taken to the police car that the hospital is located a mile away from here. We go to the left from here, go to the right in the roadway and continue straight ahead. That's where we'll find the hospital." explained Souji.

"Wow, you sure are as informatic as me. We're a lot alike, you and I, Souji." Minato smiled.

"Heh... I got my ways..." Souji said, before he began to walk away from the police department, with Minato following him.

Seeing that it is a parallel universe and this was a town that is created from the unification of the two times, the two teenagers have no idea where they should go, as the routes they found were not familiar to them. They followed the directions that Souji explained and with a hint of intelligence, they went to the right way they are supposed to go. As it is a rural town, they went through a lot of houses and a few shops. Then, after they got through all of that, they found the hospital.

"Well... There it is. Sakura Hospital. This is where the strange incident happened last night." reminded Minato.

"They said that one of the nurses saw what happened and was too afraid to tell. I wonder if she's still there." said Souji.

"Well, whatever the case, let's get inside." Minato and Souji went inside of the hospital, in hopes of finding out what caused the strange incident.

As they entered the hospital, they found themselves in a room with three ways. One to the left, one to the right and one straight up ahead. There are two counters standing between the two ways. It is most likely that one of them had a list of all the doctors and nurses presented in the hospital. So, they went to that counter. A nurse was behind it and noticed the two teenagers standing in front of the counter. "Oh! Hello! Are you the two students who decided to do part-time jobs here?" she asked.

Minato and Souji looked at each other. Then, at the nurse once again. "Actually, no. We're here to ask you something." said Minato.

"Oh. And what might it be? Can you hurry it up? My shift is about to be done with and I need to meet up with my boyfriend soon."

"Well..." said Souji. "... We heard from the news that there is a strange incident happened in this very hospital."

The nurse took notice of that. "... I see. You two are curious of what caused of that incident, yes? To be honest, I don't know what happened."

"There is one nurse who saw what happened, right? Do you know where she is?" asked Minato.

"Oh. You mean Ayane Kujisaki. Are you two here to see her?"

"Yes. We need to ask her about what she saw in that incident."

"Hm... Well..." The nurse hesitated for a moment. "... I'm not sure if she'll talk about it to you two. In fact, she doesn't want to tell anyone what she saw last night. It kinda freaked her out. I mean, sure everyone are dying to know what she saw, but seriously, she's too scared right now."

"Hm... That's understandable." said Souji, who understood what Ayane felt. "I guess we'll have to leave it here. I'm sure she'll make it through. Let's go, Minato."

"Right." said Minato. But before they decided to leave, the nurse called them out.

"Wait!" she said. The two teenagers looked back at her. "If you wanna try and help her out, then go for it. She's in the fifth floor. You can take the elevator that is on the corridor to my right." The nurse pointed at her right, the corridor that is on the right side of her view.

Souji nodded to the nurse. "Alright. Thank you for the information. We'll go check up on her and see what's wrong." he said. Minato nodded at that. However, again, just before they were about to go, they saw two people entering from the entrance. Each of those people are familiar to Minato and Souji.

To Minato, it was a girl with a mid-long, brown hair and a pair of black-brown eyes. It looked like she wore a school uniform, mainly a pink shirt, with a white one under it. The white shirt also had a red ribbon on the collar. She also wore black skirt, long, black socks and a pair of brown shoes.

To Souji, it was also a girl with short, brown hair and a pair of pale-brown eyes. She wore a green jacket with yellow stripes on the fore sides of the sleeves and around the zipper. The jacket also had three badges. She also wore a black skirt, a pair of white socks and black shoes.

"Yukari...?" said Minato.

"Chie...?" said Souji.

The two of them were, in fact, Yukari and Chie. They're here for one purpose. They went in front the counter, where Souji and Minato was, and introduced themselves to the nurse. "Hi. I'm Yukari Takeba." introduced Yukari.

"And the name is Chie Satonaka." introduced Chie.

"And we're here because we took a part-time job here at the hospital."

"Oh yeah! You two are the ones who took the job, right? Hah hah! I mistakened those two as the ones who took that job. Sorry." The nurse said, as she mentioned Minato and Souji just behind Chie and Yukari.

The two girls looked back and saw the two boys, who were staring at them from the time where they entered the hospital. "Oh! Hey, I haven't seen you two when we entered! What's up?" said Chie.

"It's nice to see you two. Actually, I haven't seen the two of you in the Zaraki-Matsu High. Are you two new in town?" asked Yukari.

Minato and Souji looked at each other once again, beofre looking back at Chie and Yukari. "Yeah... Sure, we're new." said Minato. Souji nodded in agreement.

"Oh! Then it's nice to meet you two! The name is Chie Satonaka!" said Chie.

"And I am Yukari Takeba. And you are?" asked Yukari.

"My name... is Minato Arisato." introduced Minato.

"And I am... Souji Seta. It is a pleasure to have met you two." introduced Souji.

"Well, welcome to Kuchiki Town. A nice and peaceful town for us teenagers. Seriously, you'll like it in here." Chie smiled at the two guys.

"If you guys are having trouble with learning all about the town, then don't hesitate on asking us. We'll show you all there is in Kuchiki." Yukari also smiled.

"Thank you. We will thought of that for you two." said Minato.

"It'll be a pleasure for you to take care of us around." said Souji.

"Aw, don't get all formal on us! It's really embarrassing! Heh heh!" Giggled Chie, as she blushed a little.

"So... What are you two doing here for? A friend or relative is sick in the hospital?" asked Yukari.

"Actually..." started Souji. He looked at Minato, who shrugged in response. "... We're here to ask that nurse over there about the incident that occured in this very hospital. We were curious to find out what caused this incident."

"Strange incident?" said Chie. "Wait, isn't that what the other students are talking about? The weird stuff that happened in Sakura Hospital?" asked Chie to Yukari.

"Now that you mentioned it... There were rumors spreading all about it. So, the rumors were true, after all?" said Yukari.

"It was on the news as well. They said that there was an ill person held in the hospital. Last night, something strange is going on, when that same person disappeared. There's nothing on his bed, except for a pair of eyeballs and lips that were on the floor." explained Minato.

"W... Wait...! Did you say... a pair of eyeballs and lips?!" exclamed Chie, a little creeped out upon hearing that.

"What in the world? That is not right. Who left eyeballs and lips on the floor?" wondered Yukari.

"That's what we're about to find out. There is this one nurse who saw what happened last night. Her name is Ayane Kujisaki. And we need to consult her about what she saw that night." said Souji.

"You two don't have to know about it any further. If it creeps you out, then it's ok. Just do what you are going to do. Souji and I are going to consult Ayane." said Minato.

"Um... O... Ok... Uh... Don't mind us. We'll be fine. Heh heh..." said Chie nervously.

"Excuse us, if we're making you waste time. We'll be on our way." said Yukari. She turned back to the counter, as well as Chie. "Sorry about that." she apologized to the nurse.

"No, no. It's alright. I still have time." said the nurse, who smiled gently.

After the conversation has ended, Minato and Souji looked at each other. With a nod from each, they went to go to the elevator. Before they left the room to go to the elevator, Chie looked back at the two of them, with a worrying face.

-------

By using the elevator, the two teenagers went up to the fifth floor. Upon reaching it, the elevator door opened and they exited out of it. "Well, we're here. The fifth floor." said Minato.

"Now, all we need is to find Ayane Kujisaki. We need to consult her a little until we know any information she saw last night. That way, we'll know for sure what really happened." said Souji.

"Right. Let's go search for her." Minato and Souji began to search for Ayane somewhere around the floor. They searched for her in the corridor, in rooms one by one. There are at least six rooms in the floor. And they went to five of them, until they reached the sixth one. But upon it, they found a lone nurse, standing beside the door way of the sixth room. Strangely, this room is closed, unlike the rest of them.

The nurse has long, beach-blond hair and a pair of emerald eyes. Like any other nurses, she wore a nurse outfit. Curious to see if that nurse is Ayane, they went to her. "Hi there." said Minato to the nurse.

"Huh? Oh... Hi..." she said. She sounded... kinda stressful.

That got the two teenagers curious. "Are you... Ayane Kujisaki?" asked Souji.

"... Are you two looking for me?" asked the nurse, named Ayane.

"Yes. We heard that you were the one who saw what happened last night."

Hearing it, she made a horrified gasp. "... Wha... What do you want from me...? Leave me alone... I don't want to talk about it..."

"Ayane-san, I know that you're afraid of what happened last night. But if we're able to calm you a little, we'll be able to know wha-" explained Minato, until he was cut off.

"No! I don't want to hear about it! I don't want to think about that nightmare again! Just... Just make it stop!!" screamed Ayane.

"Ayane-san, stop being afraid!" yelled Souji, as he grabbed a hold on both of Ayane's shoulders.

Ayane gasped. "I... I..."

"Ayane-san, I know that the scene you saw last night was terrifying, but trust us. We'll think of a way to get it off of your chest. If you just tell us what happened and what you saw back there." said Minato calmly.

"I... I..." Ayane stuttered. After a while, she sighed. "... Alright... I'll... I'll tell you what exactly happened last night..."

"That's good."

"Last night..." Ayane began to explain what happened last night.

_Flashback/Ayane's Point of View_

_It was my night shift at the hospital. I checked up on all of the patients from the tenth to fifth floor. When I'm done with it, my night shift will end and I'll go back home for some sleep. But... When I got in the fifth floor and went to the room where the ill person is, he was... he was reacting strangely._

_In my view, it looks like he was arching his back in pain, making weird pained moans. I had to go for him to see what's going on. As I went to his bed, I asked him, "What's wrong, mister? Are you not feeling better?"_

_He answered, "This is it... When the entire year has passed... It'll be the end of the world. The end of mankind." I didn't understand what he was talking about, even now._

_"What are you talking about? You must have a serious illness. Don't worry, the doctor will cure you in no time tomorrow." I said._

_But, he answered, "It's too late... The end is coming... It's coming...! It's coming! IT'S COMING!!!!!!!!!!!!" After that, he arched his back entirely, making terrifying gurgling sound. The next thing I know... His entire body poured out black fluids all over. The gurgling sound just kept on being terrifying. And then... He.. He suddenly turned into black slime... and his eyeballs and lips were all what is left of him..._

_It was terrifying... What I saw... And with that, I screamed of fear so loud, that the people form a couple of floors below and above heard it._

_End flashback/Third Person Point of View_

"That was what happened... I'm... I'm too afraid of it, even now... I just can't get my mind off of it..." said Ayane.

"People... turning into black slime... and left their eyeballs and lips there...?" wondered Minato. "... That sounded familiar..."

Souji noticed Minato saying something. "Is there something wrong?" he asked.

"No, nothing. Just... something that I've been thinking about." Minato said with a smile. "Anyways... Ayane, may I ask to let us go in the room?"

"Why...? That room is where the ill person died... Do you really want to go in there?" said Ayane.

"It got me curious of what's in there. I need to investigate this." Minato turned to Souji. "Are you in this, Souji?"

"Hm... Yeah, I guess. After all, I'm a little curious to know what made that guy to turn into slime and died like that." said Souji.

"... A... Alright... I guess... I can give let you in... But you need a key to unlock the door. But it's a good thing I have a spare key that unlocks all doors." Ayane said as she pulled out a key. "But... Just... Just hurry up with your investigation. If someone finds you in the room, you will be arrested for it. This room is restricted for anyone to enter."

"Is that so?" said Souji, as he looked to the door to the room, which was blocked by yellow, police tapes. "I see... We'll investigate quick and not leave any item of ours in there."

"Alright..." She gave the key to Souji. "Be careful..."

"We will, Ayane-san." said Minato.

Ayane nodded, as she began to walk away from the two teenagers. Before that, Souji called out to her. "Ayane-san! If you need to think this through, ask your boss for a vacation, until you're completely relaxed. How does that sound to you?"

She looked back at Souji and smiled. "I'll... I'll try and see if I can." she said, before walking away.

After she left the two teenagers, Souji then looked at the key in his hand. "... With this, we'll be able to enter the restricted room." he said.

Minato nodded. "I wonder what we'll learn from it."

"I wonder too... Let's find out." With a nod from Minato, Souji was about to use the key to unlock the door, until...

"Minato-san! Souji-san!" They heard someone calling out to them. They turned their heads and saw Chie and Yukari running up to them. "There you two are!" Chie yelled.

"Chie? Yukari-san?" said Souji, wondering why the two girls are looking for them.

The two girls stopped dead-tracked, upon reaching the two boys. Chie gasped for air. "Man...! It took us five floors to look for you...! How is finding people can be so... tiring...?!"

"You know, Chie-san... We should have... take the elevator instead..." said Yukari, also gasping for air.

"No way, Yukari-chan! I'm a tough girl! There's no way I'll take on a weak challenge like taking the elevator." Chie smiled.

"Um... May I ask why are you two looking for us?" asked Minato.

"Minato-san, Souji-san... We were curious about the incident that happened last night. And seeing that you two are investigating for it, we decided to join you guys. But Chie-san, being a tough girl, decided to take the stairs and dragged me into it." said Yukari, who sweatdropped at the fact that she was drag into the stairs.

"Oh, come on, Yukari-chan. You gotta be stronger and more quick. And that's what I'm going to do about it!" said Chie, using her smile of confidence.

Yukari eyed her. "Did I mentioned that you're afraid of-" However, before Yukari had to say more, Chie blocked her mouth with her hand.

"Sssshhhh....!!! That's a secret...!!! Remember...?!" whispered Chie.

Souji chuckled a little at the scene he was watching. "Heh heh... That's nice, you two."

Chie let go of Yukari's mouth and cleared her throat a little. "Anyways... Are you guys going inside of the room where the ill guy disappeared?" she asked.

"Yeah. We need to investigate what caused the disappearance of that guy." said Minato.

"But..." stated Yukari, as she saw the door blocked by the yellow, police tapes. "... But that room is restricted! No one is allowed to enter here! You'll get arrested if someone finds you in there."

"Don't worry, Yukari. We won't get caught. It'll be a quick investigation. It won't take long."

"Well... If that's what you guys wanted..." Yukari is still worried about what will happen if someone finds them in the room.

"Um..." said Chie suddenly. Everyone looked at her, waiting for her to say something that she wanted to say. "... Can... Can I join you guys on the investigation?" she asked.

"Wh... Chie-san?!" exclaimed Yukari.

"Chie, we appreciate the offer, but it's too dangerous to join us in this. If they find us, you'll get caught as well." said Souji, caring for Chie's safety.

"I know, I know... But... I wanna found out what caused the disappearance too. I'll be a huge help for you guys. I'll make sure of it!" said Chie proudly.

Souji smiled. "Well... If that's your choice, then go ahead. We appreciate the extra help."

Minato looked at Yukari. "Yukari, if you don't want to get in trouble, you can just leave us here and do what you wanna do. You don't have to join us. It'll be safer." he said, giving Yukari a smile.

"Um... I... I..." Yukari stuttered. She thought about it for a couple of seconds. And with that, she shook her head. "... I... I'm going with you guys!"

"Yukari... Are you sure?"

"Yeah... If you guys need more help, I'll be willing to help out. I need to know what caused that disappearance too... And if you're going to risk it all, I'll risk it as well. For you guys." Yukari smiled.

"Hmph... Alright then. Welcome aboard, Yukari." Minato smiled.

"Alright, that's enough chit-chat. I'm going to unlock the door. Everyone, be careful not to rip off the tapes." said Souji to everyone. They all nodded in response. With their response, Souji then inserted the key into the keyhole of the knob. By turning it, a click sound was heard. Carefully, Souji grabbed the knob and turned it, opening the door. The two girls gulped, readying to go inside of the door. Once the door is opened wide, Souji went over the tapes, as with Minato, Chie and Yukari. "Well... Here we are."

"Ok. First, let's start by investigating the bed that the ill person was lying on." said Minato. They nodded and went over to the bed where the ill person once lied.

Upon reaching the bed, they could barely see the black stain on the sheet. The pillow was also covered in black stain. The two girls wondered why there are black stain on the bed. "Um... Can anyone tell us... why is there a black stain?" asked Chie.

"Well... It'll be terrifying for you girls to hear, but.." said Souji. "We were able to make Ayane-san tell us what she saw last night. This is where the ill person was. And what she explained to us, the guy was arching his back in pain, saying stuff like... It's the end of the world and stuff... And after that, the guy suddenly turned into black slime, which was why there were eyeballs and lips lying around after his disappearance."

"Wh... What...?! Did you say that he turned into a black slime?!" exclaimed Yukari.

"Afraid so." said Minato. "It's not normal, but it's all true. The guy really did turned into black slime."

"No... Damn... Way! That's... That's just not...!" stammered Chie.

"Hm... The stain must be dryed out. The police will check up on it a little later, though." said Souji, as he identified the dryness of the stain. "But it still doesn't explain how the ill person disintegrated into slime and died..."

Chie chuckled a little nervously. "Heh heh... Heh... Well... Uh... It's... It's really nice, investigating things... But... Uh... I think I gotta go, before something bad happens. Heh heh..." she said.

Yukari, who was also in the brink of fear, thought of the same thing. "I think... I should get going too... This thing really creeped me out... I'm sorry, you guys..." she said.

Minato smirked a little. "I told you two that it'll creep you out."

"Yeah, well... You two didn't told us what happened to that guy before we enter that room! I'm out of here! Come on, Yukari-chan!" Chie angrily said, as she grabbed Yukari's arm and dragged her into the exit of the room.

"Hey! You don't have to drag me like that! I can do it myself!" exclaimed Yukari. Minato and Souji could only sigh of that.

However, before Chie and Yukari were able to exit the room, a loud, distorting sound was heard, hurting everyone's ears. "Aaaahhh!!!! What the...?! What's going on?!" yelled out Chie, as she blocked her ears with her hands.

"What... What is that sound?! It's hurting my ears!" said Yukari, doing the same thing as Chie.

Minato and Souji could only grunt, as they both did the same thing as Chie and Yukari. So far, the sound didn't penetrate much inside of their ears. However, in their view, they can see that the entire room splitted in double, triple, any other vision. After a few seconds, everything went bright in their eyes.

-------

The bright light only lasted for a few seconds. Everyone closed their eyes, afraid that they will go blind. Then, they can see inside of their eyelids that the light was slowly fading. And they can hear no sound anymore. Upon pulling their hands off their ears, they slowly opened their eyes.

However, upon opening them up, they widened it after they saw something horrible in their view.

The entire room has changed from a bright and relaxing room to a black, broken and disturbing room.

"Wha.. What is... What is happening...?" wondered Chie.

In their view, the walls, the floor and even the ceiling were mostly coated in black, with a few short and longue cracks in some part. Outside the window, they could see no view. Only darkness. And to be more disturbing enough, there are few puddles of blood on the floor and wall.

"This... This is... We're still in the hospital, right...?" asked the scared Yukari.

"But this is... This is impossible... Everything is different... And scary at the same time...!" said the scared Chie.

Minato remembered that kind of view of the room. "That vision... It's the same as the inside of Tartarus..." he said.

Souji noticed what Minato said. But he decided to ignore it because of the change in the room. "... How can this be...? We're still in the hospital, but... It changed into something... disturbing and... horrible..." said Souji.

"Ah... Aah... This is too scary...! I gotta get outta here!" Chie let go of Yukari's arm and ran straight to the door way.

"Chie-san, wait!" yelled out Yukari.

Before Chie could exit, she heard a fatal moan from outside. She gasped. Even though the walls are coated black, she could see the shadows of someone... or... someTHING. Unable to exit because of that, she walked away backwards. "What... in hell's name... IS that?!"

Seeing the shadows of something as well, Souji, Minato and Yukari are alerted to that. As Chie joined the others just in time, the shadows of something were closer. And so, something entered the room.

Minato gasped. "... That's...!" What he saw was a slime-like creature with a blue mask on. He remembered that creature well. "... No way... It can't be..." Another one entered the room as well. An exact same creature as the first one appeared.

They are not alone, however. There was also a giant ball-like creature who entered the room as well. That creature has several of black stripes and pink ones. It also had giant lips, with its tongue hanging from it. Another creature like that came in the room.

Souji remembered the last two. "That's... That's impossible...!"

Chie and Yukari are frightened to see those creatures coming in the room. "What... What the hell are those things?!" exclaimed Chie.

"That doesn't look! I think they're predators and we're the prey!" exclaimed Yukari.

"Those creatures..." started Minato.

"... They are..." Souji followed suite.

"... Shadows!" they both said it at the same time.

"Sh... Shadows...?! You guys know about them...?!" stuttered Chie.

"But how...? This is the first time I... I ever saw those creatures!" said Yukari.

"It's a long story." said Minato.

"But we don't have time for that! They're going to attack us!" exclaimed Souji, signaling everyone to get out of the Shadows' attack range.

All four Shadows attacked the four teenagers. Two of them each jumped off to the sides, avoiding the attack. Souji and Chie are on the right side, while Minato and Yukari are on the other. In Minato's side, however, when the two of them landed, he accidently tripped and fell on Yukari, causing them to fall on the ground.

In an embarrassing position, Yukari on the bottom and Minato on top, they realized what they were doing and got off of each other and stoop up, blushing a little. "Um... I... Uh..." said the blushing Minato.

"I... Well, I.. It's just..." said the blushing Yukari.

Before the embarrassing moment continued, two Shadows attacked Minato and Yukari. The two of them jumped off to the side once again. This time, they are standing behind the exit. At the same time, the two other Shadows attacked Souji and Chie. They both jumped off as well, to join the other two. Now, the four Shadows all faced against the four teenagers.

"This isn't good...! We're not strong enough against them!" exclaimed Chie.

"What should we do?! It'll be a miracle if there's god standing before us, protecting us!" exclaimed Yukari.

"Damn it... We're not strong enough... We don't have any weapons or anything... We're powerless against the Shadows...!" said Minato.

"No... This can't end like that... I... I need to protect my friends from them... But how... How am I supposed to go up against the Shadows without any strenght within me?!" said Souji.

"What should I do?!" said both Minato and Souji all together.

Upon saying it, a miracle came. Something glowed in the hand of Souji and Minato. Chie and Yukari are the first to notice it. "Wh... What...?" said Chie.

"... Minato-san...? Souji-san...?" said Yukari.

Minato and Souji noticed something glowing in their hand. To Minato, his hand held a revolver, something that shoots bullet. But this was not a revolver. It's something that Minato needed to battle Shadows. "... My... Evoker..." he said.

To Souji, his hand held a card. Like a playing card or something like that. But this card contained something in it. A figure quite familiar to Souji. "... Is that... my...?"

Upon seeing it, Minato and Souji both smiled, as they looked at the Shadows again. Souji held his hand close to the height of his chest, with the card he held. Minato held his Evoker up and pointed it at his head.

Seeing that action from Minato, Chie and Yukari both widened in fear. "Minato-san, what are you doing?!" exclaimed Chie.

"Are you trying to...?! Are you really trying to...?!" exclaimed Yukari.

Before the Shadows had a chance to attack, Minato and Souji both said one thing.

"... Per..." said Minato.

"... So..." said Souji.

"... Na..." they both said it at the same time.

At the same time, Minato pulled the trigger of his Evoker, as Souji crushed the card. And then, they both felt power surging out of themselves. Two creatures stood upon the two humans. (And I don't wanna say the description of the Personas, since... some of them got... too much to describe.)

"Our Persona..." said both Minato and Souji at the same time.

"Orpheus!" cried out Minato.

"Izanagi!" cried out Souji.

The two creatures, named Orpheus and Izanagi, both flew above their owner. **"Thou art I..." **said Orpheus.

**"And I am thou..." **said Izanagi.

**"To protect... It is the strenght of the people thou loved..."**

**"And thy strenght will come from the same people thou trust..."**

**"Slay against any enemy that prevents thou from accomplishing thy goal..."**

**"Destroy any false memories... to continue thy search for thy courage..."**

**"And we will guide guide thou... into the bright future of light..." **said both Orpheus and Izanagi at the same time.

"... Souji..." said Minato.

"... Minato..." said Souji.

"... Let's do it!!" They both said it at the same time, as a sword appeared in their hand each. They both charged at the slme-masked Shadow and sliced it horizontally, destroying it into dark aura. Three enemies are left.

The ball-like Shadow attacked Minato with its tongue and teeth. But Minato managed to block it with his sword. Pushing it off of him, he casted a skill. "**Agi!**" he yelled out, as fire burns onto the Shadow. But it doesn't seemed to be causing any massive damage. "Fire won't work against it..." he said.

"Minato, let me handle this!" said Souji, as, he too, casted a skill. "**Zio!**" Lightning struck down on the ball-like Shadow, giving it massive damage. It disappeared into dark aura. Two are left.

Minato and Souji decided to take on an enemy each. Minato faced the ball-like Shadow, while Minato faced the slime shadow. Seeing it to be an advantage, the two of them casted a skill, before the Shadows were able to attack them. "**Bash!**" yelled Minato. "**Cleave!**" yelled Souji. Both Orpheus and Izanagi went to an enemy each. Grabbing his small harp, Orpheus slammed it on the ball-like enemy, as it disappeared. Izanagi used his sword to slay the slime Shadow, as it disappeared as well. The battle was over. And Minato and Souji are victorious.

Chie and Yukari, both have watched the battle, were in awe. They saw no other people can believe. "No way... That was... Are they really Minato-san and Souji-san?" Chie asked.

"I don't know... But... Whatever they really are... They're kinda strong... Really strong... That's amazing..." said Yukari.

And so, the two heroes of the world, the two Persona users of the Wild Card, have returned.

**End of chapter**

Hey, everyone. It's me again. Sorry that I haven't made an author's note in the intro. DIdn't feel like it. Anyways, Personas are in this chapter! And so, Minato and Souji will explore the dark version of the hospital. Stay tune for the next chapter real soon.

Anyways, Till we meet again. And review, please.


	4. Chapter 3

"Speaking"

_'Thought'_

**"Persona Speaking"**

_**'Persona thought'**_

**Skill**

Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 3 or 4.

**Chapter 3:**

**The Dreaded Hospital**

The two young men who were sent into the parallel world and the two young ladies were trapped inside of the hospital, which changed into something terrible and horrifying. Still standing inside of the room where the ill client supposedly died, they encountered creatures from the shadowy corner. Minato Arisato and Souji Seta remembered those creatures.

Shadows.

They were monstreous creatures hidden in the other side of the world, which no one except the most special ones had experienced. The most common thing about them were the masks. They were once gentle creatures who lived peacefully as the humans, but because of certain incidents, they went in murderous rage. Most victims would befall in an epidemic state. Some would be killed by them.

Minato Arisato and Souji Seta's mission were to stop the ones responsible of the Shadows' rage and bring peace for them, which they succeeded.

But here, in this parallel time, they were stuck in a difficult situation, along with Chie Satonaka and Yukari Takeba, face-to-face with the Shadows. Fortunately, in a nick of time, their lives were spared, thanks to the unexpected appearance of the creatures similar to the Shadows, but lighter. These creatures are called...

Personas.

Thanks to the Personas, Orpheus and Izanagi, Minato Arisato and Souji Seta managed to slay the Shadows before they take their lives.

But only one problem was solved. The other problem was just the beginning of the cruel nightmare.

As the two young men defeated the Shadows, they turned their head toward the two surprised and amazed school girls, with their Persona slowly fading from where they stood. "Are you two alright?" asked Souji, asking about their current condition.

Chie and Yukari could only nod for a few short seconds. Then, Chie took a step in toward them. "Whoa... What... What are you guys? And... Who were these things that appeared before you?" she asked.

Souji was about to answer Chie's question, but suddenly, a chaotic cry was heard from outside, in the hallway. The cry surprised the four young teenagers. "Tch...! There's more of them, just as I thought..." said Souji.

"We don't have time to chitchat. We have to get out of here, fast." said Minato.

Without giving a second thought, the two girls quickly nodded, before all fo them ran outside of the room, carefully examinating the hallway. Somehow, there were no Shadows in sight. "Chie-san, Yukari-san, stay behind us at all times. No matter what you do, don't leave our side." said Souji. After receiving a qucik nod from both of the girls, all of them immediately ran toward the stair way. So far, no Shadows were in their way. And they made it safely in the stair way.

They then came running down the stairs as quickly as they could. Chie, unlike the others, could ran down faster than them, as she was an up-beat girl. As she reached the fourth floor of the hospital, she looked back up at the others, awaiting them impatiently. "Come on, you guys! We gotta get out of here ASAP!" she yelled.

"We're coming, Chie-san! We're not as fast as you are, you know!" cried Yukari.

"Whatever! I'm getting out of here no matter what! I can't stand this place anymore!" So, Chie resumed running down the stairs. However, just when she ran to the following stair, she suddenly hit hard on the empty air, strangely. Following the impact, she fell down on the ground, groaning in pain.

That was when the others joined her by her side. "Oh! Chie-san!" gasped Yukari, kneeling by her side. "Are you alright?!"

"Owww...! Yeah, I think so... I might have hit something hard..." responded the fallen girl.

Minato began to walk toward the next stair. Standing face to it, he examinated it. Stretching his hand toward it, he felt something hard on the empty air. There was nothing in front of the stair, but there was something hard. Turning to face the others, he concluded the sudden impact of Chie. "Something is blocking the way of the next stair."

"Wh... Wha?" said Chie, as she sat up from the ground. "Wh... What are you talking about? There's nothing there!"

"There IS nothing there, according to our eyes. But there IS something blocking the path."

"You mean... an invisible wall?" asked Yukari.

"Yeah. This might be it."

"Wait... Then that means...!"

"We can't run down any further. This invisible wall is in our way."

"Then... What are we going to do to get down from here?! This place is creepying me out! I wanna get out of here!"

While Yukari complained about not being able to get out, Souji averted his eyes toward the hallway. There might be a certain way to get down further in. "Hm... Hey, si there another stair way in the other side?" he asked.

Chie turned to the silver-haired man with a confused look. "Uh... Yeah? Why?"

"We might be able to go down to the third floor by taking the other stair way. Since this one is sealed off, we could be able to go down from the other one."

"But...! But that's a long way to go! And there's those... monsters in there! Do we HAVE to go this way!"

"If you guys value your lives, then we have no other ways. This is the only way to go, to escape from the hospital."

"But...! But...!" Chie was about to protest some more, but as she wanted to live, she sighed in defeat. "Alright... But we better get out of here as quick as possible. I don't wanna run into those things again!"

"Then let's hope so." said Minato.

With a quick nod from everyone, without a second to lose, they ran into the fourth floor hallway. The other stair way wasn't too far from here, but not too close either. Their only option was to run faster from the Shadows. But, just as they came across half of the hallway, they suddenly noticed an ominous object, standing in the hallway. "What the...? A coffin?" said Yukari, after seeing a coffin.

That coffin was standing there in the hallway, completely immobile, with a red glow below to where it stood. "Wha? Why would there be a coffin standing there?" asked Chie, before she shivered at a certain, disturbing thought. "Rrr...! This only makes me feel scared around here more and more...!"

"Coffin...? Wait... Could it be...?" wondered Minato, as he remembered something from his past life.

Noticing the thoughtful blue-haired man, Souji decided to ask him. "Do you know about this?"

"... Maybe... Maybe..." started Minato, as the others looked at him, awaiting for an answer. "... There's someone inside of it..."

"What?! then we better get him out of that coffin! He might be suffocating in here!" yelled out Yukari, as she began to open the coffin, but with no luck.

"Hold on, Yukari!" shouted out Minato. "It's alright. He may be frozen inside of the coffin. In fact... Maybe we're... stuck in time."

"Stuck... in time?" asked Souji.

"It's only a theory, but somehow, everyone in the hospital... might be frozen in time, inside the coffins. And we're the only people who could move around, even at this time. I'm not sure if it's... possible, but... I think we're stuck in a hidden time, different from normal time."

"A hidden... time...?"

"Whoa... Never thought of it that way." said Yukari, slightly amazed at the "theory" Minato came up with. "So then... Everyone is safe and sound? Those creatures won't attack them?"

"As far as I know... I don't think they will." said Minato.

As they stood there, discusting about the time and whatnot, a sudden chaotic cry flew through the hallway, surprising the young adults. Yukari gasped. "It's that cry again! Are those... things coming?!"

"Chie-san! Yukari-san!" said Souji. "Get behind us! We'll take care of them!"

Then, both Chie and Yukari went behind the two males, who readied their sword, facing in front of the direction of where the cry was heard. Just as they thought, the same Shadows back from the room above appeared, crawling and flying toward the young adults. Just like before, there were the two masked slimes and two striped balls. As the Shadows started to attack them, starting with a charge attack, Minato and Souji already got prepared for the attack. Minato drew out his Evoker and pointed it at the side of his head, while Souji held a card that suddenly appeared on his hand, just by answering the mind. At the same time, they cried out, "Persona!" before pulling the trigger and crushing the card, respectively.

"**Agi!**" cried out Minato, as Orpheus appeared before him. Upon his appearance, Orpheus launched the skill for his master, as burst of flames came bursting on the slime Shadow, destroying it into dark aura.

"**Zio!**" cried out Souji, as Izanagi appeared before him. Just like Orpheus, Izanagi launghed the skill, as lighting struck the striped ball Shadow, as it vanquished along with the slime.

With two Shadows left, Minato and Souji decided to go head-on against them, running toward them with their swords ready. Just as the Shadows attack, the two Persona-users jumped over them, avoiding the attack. But also, counter-attacking them with a quick, heavy slash from above, vanquishing them in less than a minute or so. The battle was over, but there were still more awaiting them from the rest of the floor.

Looking back at the two girls, they resumed running to the other stair way, at the same time, signaling them to follow. Seeing the sign, the two girls quickly joined the Persona-users, at the chance of surviving from the upcoming Shadows along the way.

With the strenght of the two Persona-users, the young adults had finally reached from the fourth floor to the first one. They encountered many, but few Shadows on these floors, but they managed to survive and conquer the battles they had gone through. Although they had gone through a lot of battles, it took them a lot of time to get to the first floor, much to Chie's dismay. They had to go through each stairs to go down to one floor at the time, which costed them a lot of time and brung them a lot of Shadows.

Finally, they arrived down the the first floor. After running and battling the Shadows for all this time, they relaxed themselves and took a few deep breaths to regain their normal air. "Whew...! Thank God, we finally.. made it...!" said Chie, gasping for air.

"Whew... This is it...! The first floor...! We're gonna make it out of here alive...!" said Yukari, feeling overjoyed of getting out of that terror for good.

Minato and Souji did not have anything to say, but to be glad that they will get away from the Shadows and out of the hospital. After taking a few breaths, they began to resume their very last run from the hospital. But by looking at the front of the entrance, they all noticed a figure, standing in front of the doors. "Huh?" said Chie, puzzled.

"Is there someone over here?" said Yukari, becoming quite curious. Then, without a warning, the young adults began to ran toward the shadowy figure. After getting closer on it, they saw that someone perfectly.

He looked like a tall man with dark cloak and hood that covered his head and face, making it harder to see for the others. Strangely, it didn't look like he was moving at all, but he was breathing... quite heavily and slowly. They began to question that man in their thoughts. "Uh... Hey, are you... alright?" Chie was the first to ask him. However, he kept on breathing hard, never once he began to speak up. "Uh... Hello? Earth to stranger! I'm talkign to you!" Chie received no answer, still.

Yukari then stepped up to speak up with the stranger. "Hey, um... I'm sorry, but we need to get out of here. There's those... things who are after us and we gotta get out of here before they get us! You need to get out too, if you want to live!" she said. But, like Chie, she received no answer.

"Hey!" shouted out Chie, becoming quite angry for not receiving any answer from the stranger at all. "Why aren't you talking?! Do you want to get out of here and live, or do you want to stand here, doing nothing and die gruesomely by those monsters back there?!"

".... Rrrrooooooaaaahhh..." Finally, the stranger spoke. But rather disturbing that nearly jumped the teenagers.

"Whoa!" cried out Chie. "Man, what was that?! Don't you do that again! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"... Minato... Arisato... Souji... Seta..." said the stranger. Minato and Souji were rather shocked of that man calling their name. How did he know their name? "... I have been... waiting for you... Wielders of the Wild Card..."

That only shocked them a lot more. "How... How do you know who we are?" asked Minato.

"... You two... are the only nuissances... of our goal..."

"... Goal?" said Souji, getting curious of what the stranger meant.

"... The only way... to achieve our goal... is for you two to... DIE!!!" As the strange said it, he lifted his arm up to the sky, opening up his hand. Then, as if by magic, a sudden gust of wind suddenly formed around them, rather heavily. The young teenagers began to hold themselves on the ground still.

"Aaahh!!! What... What's happening?!" cried out Chie, as she held herself still, fearing that the wind will carry her along.

The wind slowly formed a spiraling sphere on the stranger's hand, before slowly turning dark, as if it bended upon his will. "O creatures from the other side... Hear my call... Unleash your rage against these pathetic humans... Swallow their souls... Before devoring their bodies... I call upon the one who will answer to my dark will...!" he chanted.

"What... What is he doing...?!" shouted out Yukari, still holding herself still on the ground.

"Unleash thy power... Unleash thy rage... **Terror Hand!!!**" Finally, the dark sphere expended into large, shadow aura, surrounding Minato, Souji, Chie and Yukari. As the aura vanished, freeing the teenagers, something stood upon them. Something large, just twice their size.

They all looked above them to see the face of the mysterious and enormous figure. "... What... the HELL... is that?!?!" yelled out Chie, pointing at the figure.

This figure was a giant hand, wearing a giant glove with multiple colors attached on it. Unlike any other separated hands, this hand had a head of its own. All white, but with a blue mask. It stood there, facing down on the young teenagers. "Is that... a... a giant hand?!" yelled Yukari.

Just then, the Hand jumped to the air and attempted to slam itself on the teenagers. Realizing its attack, Minato yelled out to everyone. "Everyone! Get out of the way!" In just a nick of time, everyone jumped out of the spot of the attack, as the Hand slammed itself on only the solid floor.

Drawing out his sword, Souji turned his head to warn the girls. "Chie-san! Yukari-san! Stay out of harm's way! We'll take care of that giant hand!" he said, before charging himself toward the Hand. Minato also drew his sword and charged himself toward it.

But just as they made a few steps foward, the Hand jumped from the ground once more and flicked its fingers, before a burst of ice was casted on Souji. Noticing the burst, Souji quickly stepped out from the attack, before it bursted into icicle. Minato noticed the skill that the Hand casted. "Looks like it can use **Bufu** skills! Which means...!" He suddenly stopped dead to his tracks, before he drew out his Evoker, point it on his head and began to cast some of his own skills. "... Its weakness must be fire! **Agi!**" Minato cried out, pulling the trigger to unleash his Persona, as Orpheus made his appearance. He casted a burst of fire on the Hand, which struck it right where Minato wanted it to be. The Hand took some serious damage, but not enough to get it down. It set its sight on Minato, claiming him to be the death of it. It jumped from the ground and formed itself into a fist, as it flew toward Minato at a quick speed. Unable to dodge the quick fist, Minato shielded himself with the sword, bracing for the impact. The fist got him. However, the block was not helpful for Minato and the young blue-haired teenager collapsed on his knee. "Grr... Damn it...!"

"Minato!" shouted Souji. The Hand then attempted to unleash its final strike on the fallen Persona-user. The silver-haired teenager ran toward the two of them, attempting to protect Minato from the strike. "Hang on! I'll get you!" He could not use his **Zio** skill, as the Hand would be resisting it and it would be a waste.

But then, just as the Hand was about to strike down Minato, Souji suddenly heard a sound of a glass broken into pieces. Everything was stopped in time. Everything and everyone. However, Souji, though petrified from time, suddenly heard a voice calling inside of his head.

**"Thou art I... And I am thou... I am a devil who will punish those who were sent into the Underworld! I only listen to demons of the highest order! But you, my young and silent human, are most interesting indeed! I shall serve you until my duties are done! Call me now! And I will unleash the flames of hell upon your enemies!"**

Souji remembered that voice. It was the voice of a certain goblin that he had obtained during the beginning of his adventure back in Inaba. Then, slowly, time slowly went back to normal. And the Hand slowly moved to normal to attack Minato. Souji knew what he must do. He began to summon a Persona other than Izanagi to rescue Minato, with the aid of the card on his hand.

"Ukobach!" he cried out, crushing the card, revealing a small, green and devilish Goblin with blond hair, holding a long spoon with the curve part in flames. "Go! **Agi!**" Suddenly, a burst of flame was casted on the Hand, bursting up and stunning it, making it back away from Minato and from its attack. Souji ran over to Minato and lended a hand to him. "You alright, Minato?"

"Yeah... I'm fine... A little sore, though." said Minato, as he took Souji's hand and lifted himself up to the ground. "Thanks, Souji."

The silver-haired nodded in response. Then, they looked at the Hand, which seemed to be weakened after receiving two blast of fire. "It looks like it's weak. He's going down soon enough."

"Then let us commence an All-Out attack!" With that, both Minato and Souji charged at the Hand, going all-out on it. After reaching it, they commenced with numerous slashes and strikes on it, in hopes of taking it down to end it all. In the end, they managed to take it down, as it collapsed to the ground, disappearing into dark aura. All that was left of it was the two Persona-users, standing on the spot where the Hand disappeared. "... It's all..."

"... Over."

After the battle was over, the two girls ran toward the two boys, confirming it to be safe to come over. "Minato-san! Souji-san!" shouted out Chie, as she and Yukari reached them. "Oh God, are you two alright?! That hand looked tough on your guys!" Chie received a nod from both of the two Persona-users, which made her smile and glad for them to be safe and sound.

Yukari, who was too busy to know if the boys are alright, was looking around the room, noticing one, strange thing around here. "Hey... Where did that hooded guy go?" she said. As the others remembered the stranger, they began to look around as well. They found no trace of him at all. "It looks like he disappeared when that giant hand appeared... Don't you guys think?"

They all nodded in response. "This guy... He knows about this place... And he might be the one responsible for the change..." said Minato.

"Yeah..." said Souji. "... If you guys noticed, he summoned a Shadow to attack us. And he wants us to die..."

"But what does he mean? We're a nuissance of their goal...? This doesn't sound good at all..."

While the two Persona-users discusted about everything that happened, Chie now remembered something that got her concern about them. Something that no other people other than them would know. "Hey, you two..." she stated. Minato and Souji turned to Chie. "... How did you two know about this? About all of this? Those monsters, the coffins, the time and place whatnot, everything... How do you guys know all of this?"

The two Persona-users turned to each other, before thinking of the response that won't get Chie and Yukari confused about the whole thing. "Well..." started Minato. "... We... already experienced the same thing before." Souji nodded in agreement.

"Oh really?" said Yukari. "Well... If you guys know about all of this already, then... Well..." She trailed off, not finding any more words to describe.

"Well, anyways, we better get out of here. I don't wanna run into those things again. I had enough monsters for today." said Chie, as she began to walk toward the entrance, in hopes of getting out of this nightmare once and for all. However, suddenly, a sudden rumble occured on the ground, surprising everyone. As they began to look around to see what caused the sudden rumble, everything went blank in their eyes, as if a bright light had covered the entire room.

-----

The light was slowly fading from the young teenagers' eyes. As the light faded, in their eyes, the room was different than before... But normal than last time.

Yes, they were still on the first floor, in front of the entrance. But the room changed. It changed back to normal. The floors and walls were as colorful white as before. No puddle of blood was found or stained on the floor or walls. Everything was back to normal.

"We're... we're back...?" Chie was the first one to say it.

"The hospital... It's back to normal... It's back to normal! Oh, what a relief!" shouted out Yukari, glad that everything went back to normal as it was before.

"But how?" wondered Minato.

"I don't know... But whatever the case, we made it out alive. That's what matters for now." said Souji, smiling of relief.

"Wooh hoo!!! I'm so glad that nightmare is over with! We're back in the same old hospital as before!" cried out Chie. "Oh, how I wish to kiss the floor hard! I'll never ever disrespect the hospital ever again!"

Yukari could only giggled at Chie. "Chie-san, you're so childish!" And so, everyone laughed altogether, celebrating the sudden return of the hospital's normal state.

Then, a nurse came walking down the hallway, yawning of fatigue after working for a long time. That was when she noticed the four teenagers, laughing and celebrating around the room. "Hey, hey! What are you kids doing here? It's not visiting time, you know." she said.

Everyone stopped laughing and celebrating to face the nurse. "Oh! Heh heh... Sorry about that." apologized Yukari. The others nodded on her.

"... Hey, wait a minute..." The nurse began to look up on her notepad in her arms. She noticed the name "Chie Satonaka" and "Yukari Takeba" in the category of the people who volunteered today, which was that they were the only people who volunteered. "Aren't you two Chie Satonaka-san and Yukari Takeba-san?"

"Um... Yeah, why?" asked Chie.

"Your shift was already over two hours ago."

"Wha...? Really?"

"In fact, you were supposed to be done at 8 PM. Right now, it's 10 PM, two hours after you're done."

"Wha?! It's already 10?!" To the teenagers' surprised, time had already passed by. It was already 10 PM.

"Yeah. And you should go home. Your parents may be worried about you. You kids go along home already. Come on, we don't wanna get in trouble for staying out late, do we?"

"Uh... Don't think so."

"Good. Then go. And thank you for volunteering for us. We hope that you will come back to aid us a little more." And with that, the nurse left the teenagers alone.

"Whoa... Already 10? Time does pass by all of the sudden..." Chie said. Then, she started to yawn, covering her mouth with her hand out of polited matter. "Mm... Man, I'm tired... I dunno where I got this tired all of the sudden..."

At the same time, Yukari yawned as well, feeling tired just like Chie. "Mm... Maybe it was all that running... But that wouldn't be the case, would it?" she said. Minato and Souji also felt fatigue. The two of them knew that once they experienced this sort of thing like the Dark Hour or in the TV world, they would be fatigue more easily.

"Well... Anyways, I better go home now... Don't want my parents to worry about me for being this late..." said Chie. She then turned to the Persona-users one last time. "I really wanna know how you guys knew about what happened back there all so easily, but... Well, I guess it'll have to wait... See ya guys tomorrow!" With that, she ran to the entrance and exited the hospital, running home.

Then, it was Yukari's turn to say good bye, as she turned to face the two Persona-users as well. "Well, we didn't receive any money, but... I guess being alive is worth it. I hope I don't run over to the same kind of situation like last time again..." she said. She then bowed to them. "Well, I gotta go now. See ya guys tomorrow. And... Thanks for protecting us from those... Shadows or whatever they're called." She smiled. She then looked at Minato one last time, before blushing. "... Especially you too, Minato-san..." With that, she left the building as well.

As the two girls had left, Minato and Souji are left, standing on the floor, feeling tired as before. "So... What do you think we should do now?" asked Souji to Minato.

"Well..." started Minato, before he yawned. "... We... better go find somewhere to sleep. I hope this town has some hotels that we can sleep in..."

"Well, let's get going..." With that, the two Persona-users left the hospital, finding a place to sleep in. They had hope to find a hotel to sleep in or else, they'll end up sleeping in the streets, with a cold that will get to them tomorrow.

**End of Chapter**

Hey, guys! It's me again! Well, looks like I'm done with the chapter... After all these months! Well, I hope it makes up with all these stalling and for not updating for a long time. You see, I... Well, let's just say I'm trying to find my writing side back. And now I have... Sort of. Well, anyways, here's Chapter 3, just as you guys wanted! I hope you enjoyed it!

Well, see ya! And review, please! I need some reviews! T-T


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